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Sending an email, writing an SMS or even making a phone call; these are the easy ways we let our friends or family know we’re thinking of them. However, there’s now a new way for people in the UK to let someone know you care by sending a real-world gift right from your phone – using Parcelgenie.

Parcelgenie is a free app for your Nokia Lumia that allows you to browse for a suitable gift and send it to anyone through the post, hand gift-wrapped. There are lots of reasons to why you may want to send somebody a gift, as Parcelgenie CEO John Taylor explains:

“People use Parcelgenie for all sorts of reasons – to cheer up a friend who’s had a tough day, to thank them, to wish them Happy Birthday. Or simply to let someone know they’re thinking about them. A Parcelgenie gift can be sent in seconds.”

Download Parcelgenie

Press the Search button on your Nokia Lumia and then tap Vision

Scan the QR code

Tap on the link when it appears on the screen

Install the application from the Windows Phone Store

In order to make this gift ordering process as quick as possible, everything on the app is laid out mostly on the first page. The top part of the screen is where you enter the phone number of the person you’ll be sending the gift to, and the lower section is where you browse through 50+ gifts. Gifts range from a small pack of retro sweets costing about £2, to more expensive items such as the Mother’s Day Bundle, which is priced at £12.49 – perfect for Mother’s Day, which is this Sunday (10th March) in the UK.

When you’re ready to purchase you’ve got the option of how you want to pay. You could pay using the premium SMS service, but this costs a couple of quid more, or you can use a PayPal account, or a credit/debit card. There’s also the option to add a voucher code to receive a small discount on your purchase.

ParcelPoke Ltd – the company behind Parcelgenie – was very generous in being able to supply us with a discount code so that Conversations by Nokia readers can receive 40% off the purchase. Just enter 7KG32E in the appropriate place – code expires 25th March 2013.

Once you’ve purchased an item, you and the recipient will receive a text. Your text will ask you to verify the use of the app, and the other message to the recipient will be to ask for their name and address. It’s this address that the gift will arrive. Delivery times are fast and the team at Parcelgenie try their best to make sure your gift arrives the next day, using First Class Royal Mail.

What can the receiver of the gift expect from Parcelgenie?

“We gift wrap every gift that we send out. When you open the parcel from Parcelgenie and you see a beautifully wrapped gift inside, that is the magical experience we want to create for all recipients of our gifts.”

For now, delivery is only available in the UK. However, there has been an exception to this rule when it comes to sending gifts to UK troops serving overseas. Parcelgenie gifts have been received by UK troops as far away as Afghanistan, connecting people to their loved ones despite any challenges they may face.

There are intentions to expand the service into new markets, though. Currently, the 50-strong team work from offices in Brighton and London. Plans are underway to open an office in California.

John tells me that they’re always learning from their customers about how they can improve their experience, as customer satisfaction is vital. Parcelgenie will continue to be updated and development is already underway on a new app that will be rolling out in the UK and US this year. The idea is similar to Parcelgenie but will allow you to send a friend a gift from a major global retailer’s catalogue.

Have you used Parcelgenie? Let us know what you sent and for what occasion in the comments below.